Disinformation

By Jon Thompson Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of New Brunswick

We are seeing a rapid expansion of the use of metrics (quantitative methods) for assessing performance and directing behaviour of states and public institutions. This is not a new idea but one that has many adverse effects. Use of metrics can (1) encroach on matters (such as human values[1]) not properly assessable by quantitative means, and can (2) be misused even in traditionally quantitative matters (such as accounting fraud).

Disinformation can be facilitated by government regulatory structures—leading to deception and betrayals of trust, regardless of the structures’ original purpose. Significant regulatory failures in health and environmental areas are discussed here. A subsequent post will discuss broader influences contributing to the failures and how to overcome such problems.

In the final days of 2016, the small island nation of Cuba mourned the passing of a political giant. Meanwhile, next door, superpower America nervously welcomed as the latest occupant of its highest office a gigantic bigot. To be sure, Fidel Castro’s passing was not mourned but celebrated in Little Havana in Miami, while Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton was lamented by most of the Americans who voted in their federal election.

Events of early 2017 in Canada and the US raised once again the question: why are Islamic people so often subjected to discrimination, repression and violence in our societies and abroad? Among the reasons is denigration of Islamic religion and culture by intellectuals whose writing has long been given prominence by Western mainstream media. Their disinformation helped to generate a political environment in which some people in the West uncritically accept severe actions against Muslims by governments, groups or individuals, and curtailments of rights for all.

Disinformation, claims of competing economic imperatives and an inadequately informed public account for why governments have not acted effectively in response to the grave dangers posed by climate change.